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NEWSLETTER No.3
26 September 2020
Dear All
Although there is little positive to report I wanted to keep in touch so that there is a feeling of keeping this ‘family’ together in these awful times. All the courses this year have now been cancelled or postponed and it feels pretty rough from where I’m sitting. I was especially sorry to have to cancel the Winchester Schütz and Telemann Camerata weekend in November as I had genuinely thought we might be past the worst by then. Instead we find that everything is now in reverse and we are having the dreaded second wave. I do hope that none of you is affected and that you are all well and will stay that way.
On a positive note, I am working hard at the commission. I had another commission to complete first at the start of the lock-down and that 25 minute work for choir and organ was completed about a month ago. I have now finished two movements of the ECE commission, Oceans of Eternal Thought, and am feeling pretty good about it so far. I think all those taking part will enjoy the movement I have just written especially as it is different from what you might expect a setting of the words ‘In the hour of my distress’ might be! Here is a page of the manuscript of the end of the first movement and the start of the second.
Composition takes turns with writing about Arthur Bliss which is an interesting juxtaposition. I’ve reached the mid-1940s and have just finished writing about his extraordinary ballet Miracle in the Gorbals. This was such a fertile period for him. There are still thirty years to write about so progress is steady but fairly slow. It doesn’t help not being able to visit libraries and other research locations at the moment. I have a great deal here, however, fortunately and the Abebooks website for all the second hand book dealers is a treasure-trove. Looking for a copy of a magazine I had never heard of called New Theatre and a specific one from March 1947 I was amazed to find exactly this edition on an Oxfam website! The internet is an extraordinary resource.
I am looking forward all the time and always on the lookout for interesting and beautiful new venues for our courses. I found one on the Lleyn Peninsular in north Wales recently when we were visiting for a few days. I won’t share the venue yet as I haven’t had a reply from the vicar and it may come to nothing. But I really hope it does as I know how much people will enjoy making music in such a place as well as enjoying the beautiful coast with extraordinary beaches with miles of sand.
In the meantime our postponed courses are firming up for next year.
St. Cross Winchester: 8/9 May
Abbey Dore: 18-24 July
Orford (upper voices): 18/19 September
Winchester Schütz and Telemann: 20/21 November
I am not booking Chateau Rieutort for 7-14 April yet as we need to see if we are sufficiently relaxed from the virus restrictions by then. A decision will be made early in the new year if possible. Similarly, Gregynog, which should be 16/17 October has yet to be negotiated and I will let you all know about that when I have a decision from them.
The conducting course held during the Abbey Dore week in July is being planned and regular meetings are taking place on Zoom between the USA, Malaysia and here (Daniel Galbreath, Darrel Chan and me) with the hope that there can be a fresh start next time with a new title and programme. If you know of any choral conducting hopefuls who would like to join the course please contact Daniel, Course Director, directly on danielgalbreath@gmail.com.
A message from Daniel Galbreath, Dore Abbey Choral Conducting course director:
This promises to be an extremely exciting year for the conducting course. To celebrate our return after the pandemic, and our 5th anniversary, we have rebranded as Dore Abbey Choral Conducting. The ECE conducting course has always been different to other courses – the ECE community is extraordinary, the location remarkable, and the diversity of conductors especially wonderful. We are determined that this celebratory year of return should build on all of those aspects of the course, especially our openness to anyone who wants to participate, regardless of background or finances.
This means offering generous scholarships, and after a year of real hardship for many of the young and freelance musicians we attract to the course, this has never been more important.
When you register for ECE this year, there will be a page asking you to consider donating to the conducting course scholarship fund. Any amount is helpful – even as little as £10–£20. This money goes directly to the students, many of whom simply could not attend without the support we offer.
I had a lovely postcard from Margaret and Susan Greaves from Orford where they had decided to go even though the course was cancelled. It was heart-warming to see the pictures of that beautiful place and to be reminded of just how much I, and I know many others, love coastal Suffolk with all its musical associations. It brought it home (again…) just what we are all missing.
Those of you who have been attending the Abbey Dore week since its inception in 2007 will undoubtedly remember Mary Powell who lived in the bungalow looking down on the Abbey up a drive just off the main road to Ewyas Harold. I am sorry to tell you that Mary died recently literally on her 94th birthday. She was very involved in the early days of the course when she would help out with her customary vigour at Bacton Village Hall where we used to have the course suppers for the first few years. She would provide beautiful flower arrangements which helped to personalize the hall as well as help out in the kitchen. Such was the warmth of her personality that she was always known as ‘Auntie Mary’ to us. Throughout the years she accommodated a number of student conductors and others, and she formed a special friendship with Elizabeth Gotto who is a regular Abbey Dore attendee and who phoned me to tell me of Mary’s death.
She was a regular attender at our concerts even when she became more frail in recent years. She will be much missed by us all, and especially, of course, by her family. Jo Denyer, whose late husband Richard was responsible for bringing me to the Abbey years ago which led to the formation of all our courses, was Mary’s sister. I hope we will be able to remember Mary at our next course in July.
Most of the hours not spent writing words or music (and doing the gardening) are spent enjoying the company of our lovely pup, Troppo. He really is a joy, and is becoming even more so now he is beginning to get the hang of doing his business outside! He is now growing fast and the ‘Parson’ bit of the Jack Russell – the long legs – are certainly in evidence. He did a rare ‘pose’ for the camera this week and the results speak for themselves! Philip Bellshaw found an old gramophone horn in his attic which he has given us to try to get Troppo to pose for a picture replicating the ‘His Master’s Voice’ logo! I’m sure you can picture it.
We look forward to seeing you in July 2021 and making extraordinary music together!
I hope very much that you will all find some way of getting some singing in the coming weeks. We all need that! I will be in touch again when I have more news to report.
With warmest good wishes
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